greek stuff...

greek stuff...

                                                                  

  Most of the People Over Sixty (POS) I have interviewed disclose traveling to be one of their top priorities after stepping down from the daily grind.  Some anticipate a full or part time Encore Performance.   Expensive hobbies like antique cars or motorcycles have also been mentioned.  

  HUH?  What's up with that?  

  Greece and Italy seem to be the two most popular travel destinations.  Regina and I saw parts of Italy and we agree.  The beauty, history, and, culture are worthwhile to see and experience.  Greece is someplace we would like to visit, but, that trip is down the road.

  Stuart Osoffsky is 69 and enjoying his Encore Performance.  He doesn't want to go to Greece or anyplace else across the ocean because he's...been there, done that.   

  I lived abroad in Greece for close to 37 years, he said.  I just got back to the states two to two and a half years ago. 

  You must miss some of the excitement living overseas offers.

  In a way I do, he claimed, but, it is kind of like, Okay, I did that, let's do something else.  I was born here in Louisville and I moved back to be closer to family.  

  What did you do for all those years to put Greek olives and feta cheese on the table?

  I worked with University programs in the Study Abroad Sectors, he informed me.  I brought American Universities programs to Greece.  I arranged them, guided them, the whole deal. 

  Do you miss the work itself?

  Well, my company still does Study Abroad, but, I am just not there.  I can work from home, he explained.  I have two or three groups coming this May from different universities.  We start a year ahead to plan.  Plus, I have two other partners that work in the same business with me.  

  That sounds ideal.  Living in Greece, working with young people and staying relevant. 

  It was a great life because there was a lot of travel, he thought.  I was always with younger people, students and the like, and, I was always learning different stuff  and new things. 

  It was a long time ago, but, can you recall if it took you a while to get used to the cuisine?

  No, not at all, he smiled.  I'm from a Greek background, so, the food and culture wasn't any big deal.  But, living there is different than visiting in the summers which is what I did until I moved there. 

  Where did you call home while you lived in Greece.  

  I lived in northern Greece in a 23 hundred year old city called, Thessaloniki, which is on the Gulf of the Aegean Sea.  It is the second largest city in Greece and has a little over a million people.  Beautiful and I loved living there.  

  There has to be something special about such a historical place.

  Absolutely, he shook his head.  All around that area is historical.  The islands are just so beautiful.  All the ancient sites.  There are just so many.  Because a lot of the tours were historical or philosophical, we went everywhere.  There's not an ancient site we didn't cover.     

  Did you have a house, apartment, condo?  What did you call home in Greece?

  I lived in an apartment, he said.  They do have houses but not nearly as many because space is limited.  I always had a one bedroom apartment and I never paid more than $300 a month rent. I had a rooftop where I would go and you could see the whole city.  

  Could My Big Fat Greek Wedding have been real?

  Stuart smiled when he said, You know, there is some truth to it, I have to say.  I just finished watching the third in the series.  It's a great life in Greece because everything is outdoors.  

  How about the Greek government?  You were able to coexist without any issues?

  It was fine, he offered.  Even during Covid there were some restrictions like here, but, I don't have any issues with the government.  It is democratic, so, it's not like it is a dictatorship.  

  Do you have any goals you would like to achieve?

  I hit all the goals I wanted, he replied.  All that traveling was wonderful when I did it. We went all over Europe, all over Greece, we did all the ports in the Mediterranean.  

  How do you spend your spare time?

  Now, I do more reading, that kind of stuff.  I maybe would like to do a little more traveling, but, it has changed.  It's not the way it was. It's all a pain.  The airport, the plane, it was never like that before.  

  Stuart, thank you for your time.

  My pleasure, he responded.  

  Coming up:  another oddities, observations, & ?'s; a job$ somebody's gotta do, and: another POS!

  And, finally.  I am still processing the fact that we have re-elected a man to serve as the leader of our country who asked scientists if ingesting bleach could play a part in neutralizing Covid-19 (White House Press Conference, April 23, 2020).

  HUH?  What's up with that?